On their own: A snapshot of singles in America

Who are the single people in this country? Unmarried men or women head 45 percent of all households. Here’s a closer look at single people by the numbers:

? 99.6 million or 43.6 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older were unmarried in 2010.

? 61.8 percent of the unmarried population age 18 and older had never been married, 23.8 percent were divorced, and 14.4 percent were widowed in 2010.

? 31.4 million people lived alone in 2010. They represented 27 percent of all U.S. households, compared to only 17 percent in 1970.

? There were 9.9 million single mothers living with their children. They represent 10 percent of all unmarried people in America age 18 and older in 2010. There were only 1.8 million single fathers living with their children during the same period.

? The median age of first marriage was 28.7 for men and 26.7 for women in 2010. This is a significant delay in marriage compared with 1970 when the median age was 22.5 for men and 20.6 for women.

? 4.3 million U.S. residents age 15 and older reported getting married “within the past 12 months” throughout 2010. There were 2.4 million divorces during the same period.